Over 2 Weeks Since I Was Told

2 weeks ago 15 minutes with sugical oncologist. Who open my moth looked in with a flashlight and said advanced tonsil cancer then clipped a few pieces out.

Yesterday 20 minutes with radioligist doctor she took a short scope and look in my mouth and said throat looks ok but felt a spot on my tongue.

She said looks like tonsil is 3 cm my lymphnode neck mass is 9x6 cm she mesured it. And said something about it being encapsulated

Said i should be able to get into see a medical oncolgist next week and get a pet scan.

I had just moved back from the jungle in costa rica   a  month before all this happened so i am just on rhode island state medicad.

So am i just gonna get what they have whenever they get around to it.

Thanks Victor

well, if you can find a way to get to MD Anderson in Houston, you'd get the best available. Call them, maybe they have some sort of financial aid since they are a teaching facility.

God Bless,

Rick

my S.O.'s insurance had recently lapsed when he was diagnosed...we were referred to dana-farber in boston - they have no help for out of state patients...his doctor there couldnt believe it but the financial aid office is the decision maker.  luckily we are in NH and medicaid will pay for care in Mass. if it is necessary.  getting on Medicaid took some doing...he had to be considered disabled to qualify.  once he was approved (took over a month) things went quite smoothly.  we have never felt that his care at that point was any less than if he had "standard insurance".

i am sure every state is different...but if you don't have a top notch cancer facility in state check to see if they will pay for you to go out of state.  it can be a battle but it is one worth fighting!

a big help to us was connecting with a social worker at our local hospital who worked as an advocate on our behalf to get the paperwork moving more quickly.

best of luck

~meesh

Contacting MD Andersen is a good idea.

I wouldn't stop there.  Contact all the leading cancer teaching facilities across the country and see who can help.  Johns Hopkins has quite a few options even for those out of the country.  I'm sure other facilities do too.

Somebody, somewhere, is doing a clinical that you can get into.  We nearly went this route with bioimmune therapy but decided against it as we had an excellent local cancer center willing to map with Johns Hopkins protocol.

Start with MD Andersen and keep going!

Meesh where in nh are you from?

Goffstown NH here

did my treatment at dartmouth

6 mo. out scc tonsile t2n2mo stage 3b

give me a shout